Authorities have identified the suspect they have arrested in connection with Long Island’s infamous Gilgo Beach murders as long-time Massapequa Park resident Rex Heuermann, 59.
New York State police – along with Suffolk County police and sheriffs – converged on Heuermann’s home on Friday morning and took him into custody. Reports indicate that they are currently searching the suspect’s residence for more potential evidence, in addition to his Midtown Manhattan office on 5th Avenue and 36th Street.
Previously, authorities had theorized that the suspect in the killings had potentially been a Long Island resident who commuted to Manhattan, with officials later discovering evidence to fit that narrative in the form of a cell phone ping originating from Penn Station.
Heuermann is anticipated to make an appearance in court later Friday afternoon, with Suffolk County prosecutors expected to hold a press conference later in the day to provide more details.
Heuermann is said to have been a lifelong resident of Massapequa Park who is employed as an architect and is married with two children.
Upon hearing the news Hollywood actor William Baldin – originally hailing from Massapequa himself – confirmed on Twitter that Heuermann had previously been a classmate of his at the Massapequa School District’s former Berner High School (now Berner Middle School).
Woke up this morning to learn that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was my high school classmate Rex Heuermann.
Berner High School
Massapequa, New York
Class of 1981
Married, two kids, architect.
Average guy… quiet, family man.
Mind-boggling… Massapequa is in shock.
Heuermann had been interviewed in 2022 on a YouTube channel called “Bonjour Realty,” where he talked about how he started his Manhattan consulting business and his thoughts about dealing with the rules and regulations of NYC’s Department of Buildings.
The Gilgo Beach murders (click here for LongIsland.com’s resource on the history of the killings) have long been regarded as a deep, dark, and tragic stain upon Long Island, with an unidentified individual being responsible for the killings of between 10 and 17 women – and one man – and the subsequent dumping of their bodies along the Ocean Parkway over a period of nearly 20 years.
The unidentified killer has been alternatively referred to in the media as the Long Island serial killer, LISK, the Gilgo Beach Killer, the Manorville Butcher, and the Craigslist Ripper.
Although the first killings were believed to have begun in the 1990s, the first body was actually not discovered until 2010.
